For those of you who haven’t read the Stephen King novel or
seen the Brian de Palma version, Carrie is the story of a shy outcast in high
school, ridiculed by her class mates and abused at home by her fundamentalist
Christian mother, Margaret. Carrie soon discovers that she possesses telekinetic powers which flare up when feeling angry or distressed. After a horrible prank at her school
prom, said powers evoke havoc over her school and surrounding suburbia.
Brian de Palma’s 1976 release is an
absolute classic. His visual flare and experimentation (split screen anyone?)
mixed with brilliant performances from Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie are
unforgettable. Whilst no out-right scares (apart from that one... gets me
everytime), de Palma manages to create an incredibly eerie sensibility
throughout the entire film, it compels you. As the late, great Roger Ebert so
fittingly summarises in his review, it’s an "absolutely spellbinding horror movie". So
naturally, it was picked up for a remake.
After
a few teasers, MGM and Screen Gems have released a full official trailer. Here
it is...
Coincidentally, I wrote a brief essay yesterday on horror
remakes and the inherent cynicism that surrounds them. You can read that piece
here. Yes on the face of it, after viewing the trailer, the cynic in me is thinking – pointless shot for
shot remake, too much CGI and quite frankly, a wrong choice of casting, placing
Chloe Moretz in the leading role (it just doesn't feel right to me!). It all
seems rushed, despondent and I could not help but feel a little deflated and disappointed
upon viewing. Although, Julianne Moore as Margaret is a great piece of casting... but she
does have an awful lot to live up to.
Still, we must keep an open mind.
After all, how much can we really tell from a two minute trailer?
Carrie is due for release on October 18th. What
were your thoughts on the trailer? Post a comment!
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